The boy reading wonder
Of all the countless parenting dilemmas out there, I never thought I'd face this one, at least not at this early stage. My son, 2 1/2, has turned his yearlong obsession with the alphabet into the ability to read. At first I thought he was just recognizing certain words that he remembers from his favorite books or videos, then I realized he's actually reading.
We were at Babies R Us the other day when he said, "bab." I looked up, and sure enough, most of the store's sign was blocked and he was reading what he saw. My husband took him to the bank the other day and Elias announced "Drive-Through ATM." And this weekend we were at Old Navy waiting at the cash register when he saw a sign (in reverse, mind you, on the store's glass meant for patrons coming toward the store) and said "Baby and kids." That's not even the half of it. He can read practically any three-letter word and lots of simple four-letter words too. 
What's the problem, you may ask? Of course, I'm pleased and proud of my little guy. He's super-smart. But my older son Evan is pretty smart too. He's starting to read too, which I think is pretty normal for a 4-year-old. He sounds every letter out, while Elias instinctively just says what he thinks, which is right most of the time.
The dilemma is this: how do I make sure that Evan doesn't feel inferior? For instance, the woman ahead of us in line at Old Navy immediately said, "Oh my God, he just read that sign backwards!"
"Yeah, he's starting to read," I respond, trying to downplay the situation.
"Is that normal?" the woman asks.
"I don't know," I say, "I have two smart boys."
I have no idea if all this fuss about Eli's early reading even affects Evan. But I would guess that it does. I wonder if my response to that woman at Old Navy was lame, or if Evan can see right through my attempts to make him feel good too.
Any suggestions?
Comments
My daughter did the same thing. To have a child like this is a blessing, however, to keep them challenged is difficult.
By 4 she was reading books at a frightening pace and I couldn't afford her "habit" anymore, so we stopped the Borders/Barnes and Noble trips and replaced them with the library.
My advice is to work with both boys. The last thing I want is for my daughter (who is now 13) to think she is smarter than everyone or that she doesn't have to try. I remind her very often that everyone has a blessing/talent. Some are good at gymnastics, others are good singers, others are good academically - that is what makes us each unique and special.
Posted by: Sherry | February 11, 2008 5:42 PM
I think your response was just right to the woman at Old Navy. It's nice to see Sherry's advice, as someone who has been there before.
Posted by: Amy | February 11, 2008 8:21 PM
My son is 11 weeks old he said his first words. December 12th 2012 he said and they he said Kaboom! I think he told me the world is ending cause I googling the date I think I have a son of God. could this be real?
Posted by: Michelle Gaploonaoni | February 12, 2008 10:46 AM
Hey! That comment about "son of God" was a pretty cheap shot. Look, it's not easy having a kid that does something as out-of-the-ordinary as deciding to read before age 3.
This happened to us, too, with our older daughter. She was a fully fluent reader at age 3. By the time she was in kindergarten, she was well past picture books. And in third grade she had to have reading class with fifth graders, most of whom didn't read as well as she did. She was always an iconoclast in elementary and middle school and never really fit in.
She stll reads voraciously at age 16 -- a blessing for English and history classes -- but sometimes I think her extreme verbal intelligence does her as much harm as good. She's awkward and introverted and has difficulty making friends. I worry constantly about her.
I do not think she is godlike at all. But she does like post-apocalyptic, dystopian fiction, so maybe I'm wrong.
Posted by: Vicki Brennan | February 12, 2008 1:27 PM
THat last line is hilarious Vicki!
Posted by: Laura Kelly | February 14, 2008 12:00 PM